USAC Reviews

In late December of 2013, I boarded a plane to Bangalore. Immediately after getting off the final plane, I felt Home. There has never been a more revolutionary experience in this entire life for me. This is no platitude or exaggerated conjecture, this is as truth as science. The people are unmatched in their capacity for care and their creativity of different manifest forms of thoughtfulness. When serving with the Centre for Social Action, I got to spend as much time as I pleased volunteering with a branch of the organization called Parivarthana. It is a non-profit that cultivates sustainability through creating goods out of recycled materials. Its workforce consists of thirty women from the local impoverished areas, supplying them with needed income and promotes systemic social justice simultaneously. Two of the employees became two of my closest friends; neither of them spoke very much English at all, yet we always found ways to communicate with one another. Our friendship grew to a point where I was even invited to one of their weddings. This place became where I spent most of my time, turning my "required" 15 hours into over 100. Additionally, I was led to a United Nations Microscholarship school to help facilitate lessons on Martin Luther King, Jr. and the general culture of the United States. There, I made even more friends. It hurt to leave Bangalore. Sincerely, it was something that I did not want to do. There is a part of me that believes I left both my mind and heart back in South Central India. As for the program itself, the academic challenge is a worthy one and the professors are of high intellectual regards. The program manager is one heck of a tour guide and unintentionally promotes independent learning. If you are a person that self-initiates adventures, appreciates diversity, treats everything as a learning opportunity, does not take life too seriously but treats academics with high importance, and has a longing to serve, then this program is certainly for you. All I know is that I cannot wait to go back and am eternally grateful to programs like USAC and Boise State University's International Learning Opportunities office for the privileged opportunities they played such a paramount role in.

The hardest question for a student who wishes to study abroad is,"where do I want to go?" Where have they always wanted to go, can they speak the language, will they fall in love with the people or the places, and is that the place where they can go off into the world alone and know that they will feel the change that study abroad can bring? Pau, France is a place that has engraved its way into my heart. The people I got to meet, the family I got to live with, the places I got to see, and the overall change I got to experience.

The moment that I stepped off the plane, after 24hours worth of traveling because of bad weather, my host mother greeted me with bisous, hugs, and whole hearted welcomes. She took me back to the home where I would be staying for four months, allowed me to settle down and take in the exciting world around me. I would get to meet my family later that night, a family that would become my second home or even my "French Family," they helped me throughout the following months more then words can describe and I can not wait for when I can go back to visit them.

After orientation and visiting the campus the next step would be to go to classes, meet my professors, and figure out how on earth I was going to study in French. The school week would consist of around one class a day that would spread from 5-7 hours, there would be amazingly long lunch breaks between class each day. The routine would be like this; class for two hours, two hour (or one hour) lunch break, and then the final three hours of class. The only reason classes might run up to seven hours is if there is a chance to add an elective, in this case I had a Southern France history class which helped me understand the history of where I was.

After classes there would be so much time to explore the downtown area, you could take the bus (which is very easy to figure out) and it would take you right to Les Halles, which is a giant building for a farmers market, and you would be a small walk away from the main hangout. The main hangout for my group (and groups before that) was known as the fountain, everyone would meet up there and explore it all together. There were small festivals, events that the university would tell you about, and just fun places to go and search for. If you just felt a little too tired and didn't want to wander around you could always go to the most american controlled bar, the galloway! I have an unlimited amount of funny moments at the galloway that I got to experience with my group, it is worth the time to go visit for a pint of beer!

If you decided to eat out there were a variety of places for you to enjoy an amazing meal like Letna for pizzas, the kabob place, and more! The best part for me was being able to come home and have dinner with my family (which was at 9pm!) We would talk, drink wine, have amazing home cooked meals, and just laugh the night away.

My days would consist of this lovely routine for months (unless I was traveling around which I tried to do each weekend), it was hard to leave France just as hard as it was to leave the states. I had to leave a second family, I had to leave a whole new set of friends, and it was scary because I thought I would have to leave this new stringer person that I had become. Truth is I brought all of these changes home with me, still see the people I met back in France, and I still send emails to my host family. I didn't loose anything but gained a whole new experience.

USAC did an amazing job planning out weekend events and places to travel, placing students in the classes appropriate for there knowledge on the language, and being a valuable resource for students to go to. I would suggest this to any and everyone, I actually do suggest it constantly. There would be emails about events happening in town, on campus, and information on why the events were happening. Amazing staff which would talk to you and help you with any small request you had!

Signing up for a semester abroad at Massey Wellington was a bit of a shot in the dark since I wasn't really guaranteed to get any of the classes I was interested in. Since I was entering CoCA (Massey's art school) it's very competitive and difficult to get the classes you are interested in.

When I first got my schedule I didn't receive any of the classes ("papers") I wanted, but after talking with a number of different professors I was able to get into everything I wanted. The classes were by far my favorite classes I've taken throughout my college career. Being surrounded by so many creative minds and industry professionals was an incredible experience.

When I decided to study abroad at Massey though, my plan was to travel and academics were just part of that process. It turned out that academics became more than just a side job which I'm very grateful for. The traveling was also spectacular though. I've never seen so many incredible landscapes and gone on so many memorable hikes in such a short period of time.

If you're looking for good academics and scenery that you'll remember for the rest of your life, Massey Wellington is the place for you!

If you are thinking about traveling to China and specifically Chengdu, I would say you should rest assured that you will be greatly enriched by the USAC program. I spent the summer of 2013 in Chengdu and followed my session up with a visit to Beijing. The dorm and the classrooms are floors apart so you have access to everything you need in one site. The staff and faculty are all very helpful and are glad to share the experience with you. There is plenty of time for educational, cultural and personal enrichment and exploration. You get outstanding value for your currency and there are plenty of shops and dining near the campus. If you get home sick there are some restaurants that are near the campus that may comfort you with familiar dishes. Otherwise you will have plenty of dining choices to experience local cuisine. The field trips and activities they have planned are interesting and plentiful so that you can visit other points of interest outside the campus perimeters.

The perfect introduction to Europe for me. People are ridiculously friendly and everyone speaks English (along with 2-3 other languages). Most class curriculums were made up of 1-2 group or individual projects due at the end of the semester and a final. Contrary to American universities where there are countless tests, online assignments, and homework assignments. Students are expected to organize their time wisely to meet with group members outside of class. However class was not very demanding and I had a lot of free time to explore. The greatest part about the Netherlands is the bikes. You can ride your bike literally across the country and be on a well maintained bike path separated from traffic. It brought me so much joy to ride from The Hague to Schvienhagan (the beach), a glorious 15 minute ride in which you're surrounded by lush green vegetation. I recommend going in the Spring because their are more breaks, the weather is better, and you can travel once summer comes. The Netherlands is a completely flat country so riding around isn't too strenuous. Being 45 minutes by train from Amsterdam was fantastic. Amsterdam feels so free, like there are no rules there. Countless weekend my friends and I would go there to see concerts, go to clubs, or just walk around enjoying the beauty and uniqueness of this wild city. The Hague is quieter, but during Summer at Schivenhagan there are these massive beach clubs that open up right on the sand. You can rent cabanas during the day, or party at night and enjoy the indoor/outdoor club scene. The Netherlands is a very liberal, open minded, and tolerant country. I really enjoyed how blunt people were, they Dutch will tell you exactly what they think. Lastly I must say that the greatest part of my studying abroad experience was the people I met. Not just the life long friends I made while studying in the Netherlands. But the random people I met along the way while traveling throughout Europe. The cultures and traditions are so vastly different, but in the end you'll find that everyone is human and probably wants the same things out of life that you do. What a wonderful, refreshing, unforgettable, empowering, and eye opening trip I had. Thank you Netherlands for helping me to discover who I want to be.

DISCLAIMER: This program is incredibly fun, but really is what you make it. I went in the Spring semester and it was a great experience but I think you must be willing to adapt to the culture.

It's so easy to travel throughout India which was the most fabulous part of this class. I would never NEVER travel alone because it's incredibly easy for natives to recognize that you are foreign, but traveling on trains and tour buses are great options. If traveling on an overnight train, always opt for the higher class air conditioned sleepers.

I also really enjoyed the program's planned travel. I went on the South Indian tour at the beginning of the spring semester and it was totally worth the money. The resident director in the program introduces you to Indian life in a gentle way while you still feel like a tourist and begins to help you live independently in India. If I had traveled with other students at the beginning without him, I wouldn't have known where to go or what foods to choose or where to stay. He handles it really well and explains why he decides certain things for us that way you can travel by yourself later in the program. We got to see the beautiful countryside and meet Indians that the Resident Director new and try a lot of incredible foods and get tours of interesting places.

DAILY LIFE:
Just a quick blurb about what daily life looks like- you walk about 40 minutes to school each day or you can take a 10 minute rickshaw ride to school which costs from 50 cents to $1. The school has authentic Indian food in its cafeteria and people are friendly, but in a curious way. You have to endure a lot of staring and women sometimes need to combat feisty, pushy men. You will feel like a novelty. As long as the USAC program keeps its current housing, there is a Domino's pizza and a Pizza Hut around the corner. There's also a great restaurant called Kevin's Kitchen from which you can order-in authentic Indian food at night. There's also a grocery about 5 minutes walking away and you live close to a pretty well-known bus stop so it's not hard to direct a rickshaw driver to your home. You'll be constantly tired from being bombarded by new sights, sounds, and people, but the experience is great.

The teachers at Pau are pretty good at getting everyone to understand. You can choose to live in a host family or in the dorms. Robina, Ryan, and crew are very helpful from traveling problems to being sick (I had gotten a throat infection and they booked a doctor's appointment for me as well as helped me explain what was wrong in French). They will also listen to any problems you have and can give you tips for just about anything (from visiting places to how to improve your French by speaking it daily).

India is one of the most unique and interesting cultures I have experienced, and I wouldn't change anything about my time there. The best part is meeting the native students - they helped us to really integrate and understand what life in India truly is like. Although the process of getting a visa to study there and obtaining a residential permit once you arrive is frustrating and complicated, it was worth every minute to have the chance to live there and try something totally outside my comfort zone. Perhaps the most challenging aspect is understanding what it means to stand out and feel like you are being discriminated against and misunderstood. It's an experience that most Americans don't have in their lifetime, and I became so much more aware after being on the other side of such a situation. I was taking a service learning course, and this also really helped to open my eyes to what is going on in India and some of the challenges that people there are facing.

The experience I had in this city and the study abroad program was unreal. Any fears, doubts or nerves went out the window when I arrived in San Sebastián with all my new friends and the USAC advisors. They made it clear that they would be there to help with anything we needed and they were not lying. After a month or so there I got extremely sick and I had an advisor take me to the doctors and translate my symptoms and medicine I needed. In San Sebastián it was easy to get to school by foot but also by bike and usac made it easy by giving us bike rental places to go get them. All of the students housing there was also amazing. I lived in an apartment with 3 other girls and we lived right in the art of old town. Everything about my experience was incredible. From the travel the travel and weekend trip to immersing myself in the Spanish cultures. I highly recommend studying abroad and using usac as your program.

I had a great experience at Shanghai University as part of the USAC program. We had extremely helpful and friendly advisors who went out of their way to make sure we were adjusting well. Thanks You Sha and Jessica. You guys definitely helped me feel at home in Shanghai during the months I was there!